Good Mornings for a Wednesday (October 2)

In case you’re a new reader, “Good Mornings” posts are basically my version of a random photo dump – and a quick-and-easy way to give you some tiny snippets from my every day life. Enjoy!

As a New Jersey gal, I’m a tomato snob.

I think the tomatoes in Singapore are fairly tasteless.
But I died and went to Farmer’s Market heaven in London!
Everything looked so fresh & delicious,
We overbought.
I packed the extras to take for plane snacks,
Tied up in the hotel’s freebie shower cap!

One of the last things I did before moving to Singapore….

…was run Ragnar ADK
(Adirondacks)
Our team included 3 Hollys from Rochester.
Thus, “Holly Cow”.
The team (down to 2 Hollys) reunited to race this past weekend.
I cheered from a far: “Keep MOOOOOOOving!”
Do you have any idea how deep the cow/running punning can go?

Shaved ice.

Shaved ice is quite a popular dessert out here.This one was an east-meets-west variety:
Shaved ice with various flavors/toppings.
The chocolate banana at the bottom is mine.

Does the time go twice as fast because he’s wearing two watches?

Love.

What? Me? Giggle my way through the library?Never….

A new family member (temporarily) joined my parents in June.

She’s adorable,
Albeit needy.
And she loooooves the end of the watermelon.
She takes a small bite, then moves slightly to the side,
And takes another bite –
Eating it just like you and I.

What’s the strangest shaved-ice topping you spot in the photos above?
[There are too many weird ones to name in such a brief post – so take a guess!]

I’m totally with you, Amy! This particular treat was *better*, since I could get mine with chocolate and other desserty things on it. But had I eaten the one topped with sweet potatoes and fruits, I wouldn’t wanted a second (“real”) dessert! I do like shaved ice as a cooling treat when I’m overheating, but just don’t try to pass it off as DESSERT. [I feel pretty much the same way about all Chinese desserts.]

Iiiiinteresting! I’ve seen it here sometimes with soft serve on TOP. I think that mixing the two is a bit weird, honestly. Either keep it icy and let me call it “not really dessert” (even though here it is often served with sweetened condensed milk poured over it), or keep that watery ice out of my ice CREAM.

Shaved ice: where did you get those? I’m still a fan of good old hawker centre ice kacang. The standard combination of toppings (sweet corn, red beans, palm fruit, jelly bits and evaporated milk) is nice and my local stall will add mango or durian for an extra dollar.

Oh, Allee, Bits (that’s her name) is her own brand of crazy…I’m not sure she’d balance anything. She would distinctly ignore your dog, though. She has no interest in other dogs – only in humans who give belly rubs.

Shaved ice like this is pretty much an Asian thing…I don’t know where they’d have it in Rochester. Ah, well…you’ll just have to come visit. And as I’ve said before, it’s *usually* topped with jello and fruit and such, so I consider it “pre-dessert”, and feel completely justified in having “real dessert” after. 🙂

She is kind of in search of a new home, but unfortunately…she’s an American dog. Also, she’s waaaay too interested in strangers (and the belly rubs they give) to fit in out here, where dogs basically act like cats: Not a second glance at the humans. I run past folks walking dogs all the time, and I’m still maazed at how little the dogs look/care/flinch. Bits (her name) is definitely a, “Oh hi! I know I just met you but would you rub my bellllllly????” kinda pup.

And I’m a bit sheepish on the library sign…especially since you like it. The photo is actually a bit blurry. But I’ll admit to trying to be covert, since taking a picture of a random bulletin board seems rather weird.

The Yorkie eating the Watermelon is priceless! How sweet 🙂
I’d love to run a Ragnar. There was a little bit of an opportunity that I thought I’d have, but it fell through. I’m planning to make it happen at some point. They sound way too much fun to pass up. Three Hollys! That’s funny! In my classrooms right now I have multiple students in multiple classes (though sometimes the same class) with the name Taylor, Jessica, Kaitlyn (various spellings), and Alexus.
This is random… but I always think of you when I drive by DQ after your little thing about the Blizzard 😉

Be patient – Ragnars are popping up all over, and growing in popularity – you’ll get into one eventually. Good fun, for sure! 🙂

The weird thing is all three of us are used to being the only Holly. We’re also all relatively fast runners who know each other – but workout with different groups. And we all lived in Rochester for a time. There was one morning when two of us met to cheer for a local race, and runners kept coming by yelling, “HI HOLLY!” We both kept thinking, “But…who is that? I don’t know that person….OH WAIT. YOU know that person???” Anyway, the whole thing was good fun. But as a Stephanie, I suspect you’re pretty immune…

I love your Good Mornings posts! 🙂 Always so much fun in the randomness!

What do they call the shaved ice (if there’s a name for it besides “shaved ice”) out there? In Korea, it’s bingsoo. I like the kind with fruit and mochi (usu. there’s ice cream included too) but I have a general problem with the dish because when the shaved ice melts it gets all WATERY. So you have to eat it *extra* fast unless you want cold soup!

I think with all my long-windedness, I also appreciate a day when I can just relax, write a few words, and let the photos speak for themselves. [This isn’t something I’m usually good at, need to practice – alone with photography…ooops?]

It definitely melts super fast out here! The most traditional kind of shaved ice out here is topped with evaporated milk, rose & pandan syrup, sweet corn (yep, kernels of corn), some several kinds of “jelly” (super firm jello), red beans, and sometimes some other fruits and called “ice kacang” (pronounced “kah-chahng”). But there are other variations, and this was at a shaved ice “bar”, where we could choose our toppings, or choose a set of toppings.

I’ve seen it topped with soft serve out here, in a few places. To me, that’s really odd. Two different kinds of dessert. [Namely, shaved ice isn’t dessert. Ice cream IS dessert!]

I just stumbled upon your blog by reading your comment on Mountain and Miles… I saw Singapore and flipped! I grew up there (lived there for 13 years) and my parents are still there after 20 years. It’s my home! There are obviously a lot of people who live in Singapore but I love that I found your blog and can live vicariously through you!!

Now I’m flipping, too! Love meeting someone else who ‘gets’ all the Singapore things. 🙂 I don’t know how deeply you read, but I was born & raised in rural New Jersey, met my now-husband in college in the US, and we lived there until a year ago (almost exactly) – when we moved to Singapore (my husband’s home country). It’s been a crazy ride, but I love it. Of course…drop me a line if you’re ever home visiting! And for now…I’m glad I can help you love on Singapore, even from a distance.

I have no cow-puns, but I’m kind of sad about that. I’m just too tired to be creative. I think it’s the post-lunch slump.

I’ve really been wanting to do a Ragnar. I’m thinking of doing the DC (or another one close by) one next year and making it a work team so that we can get NG to sponsor us, ha. They sponsor people for charity races all the time, soooo maybe I would have to incorporate that.

If wearing two watches will make me go twice as fast then maybe THAT’s why I’ve been running my races slow! Only one watch 😉

Very cute little watermelon eater! My dog doesn’t eat fruit unless he’s with my in-laws’ dogs who eat persimmons, apples, pears… any fruit that falls off their trees- then my dog has to show them he’s cool and eats the fruit too 🙂

Hmmm overabundance of tomatoes from the London farmer’s market… good use for a freebie shower curtain 🙂 I’ll have to file that one away. Huh I’ve never considered toppings on shaved ice, before.

Cow pun (it will probably make you groan): Instead of a sign that says “you’re all crazy” (which I have seen numerous times at longer races), a sign that says “You’re all udderly ridiculous” and then has a picture of a cow on it!

There were LOTS of “udderly” puns! Actually, there are lots of puns on the back of the shirt. After finishing up this 50K reporting nonsense, I’ll have to include a photo of the back of the shirt in an upcoming post. Because…We also have nice calves! =)